Contents
Theme of the week: controller robots
“To evaluate the quality of 1 identical parts every day, you need experience and proven skills. This is not creative work, and we want to free employees from such tasks,” says Musashi Seimitsu Industry CEO Hiroshi Otsuka. The Japanese company produces components for cars and motorcycles, and people’s lives depend on the quality of its products.
Together with the Israeli startup SixAI Musashi Seimitsu Industry has developed artificial intelligence that finds defects in parts like an experienced employee. It takes only two seconds to check each part. The controller robot uses medical diagnostic methods and compares spare parts with a perfect sample. Before the introduction of artificial intelligence at Musashi Seimitsu Industry enterprises, out of 50 parts, only one was defective. Even at this initial level of quality, the company noticed that the components got better thanks to automated controllers.
Now MusashiAI, a joint venture between Musashi Seimitsu Industry and SixAI, is building robots commercially. According to the head of SixAI, Ran Polyakin, companies from Japan, India, the United States and a number of European countries are interested in the development. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of orders has quadrupled.
Auto parts maker Marelli is also implementing controller robots, and Ricoh, a Japanese printer and other office equipment firm, plans to use AI to fully automate one of its factories. Computer algorithms have allowed workers at both companies to stay at home during the pandemic and monitor production from laptop screens.
Article of the Week: Ethics as a Service (EaaS)
Most business processes today take place in the cloud, and providers provide not only computing power, but also develop all the necessary applications for customers. With the development of this technology, large companies offer users more services. So, Google wants to check the ethics of artificial intelligence, which is created by customers of its cloud platform. The function is planned to be called “Ethics as a service” (ethics as a service, EaaS) by analogy with SaaS (software as a service) – a popular model of interaction between providers and users.
Artificial intelligence makes decisions based on the data it was trained with. Due to the bias of the creators and the information they have selected, algorithms can discriminate against certain groups of people. For example, AI does not recognize the faces of Africans well and is guided by gender stereotypes.
As part of the EaaS initiative, Google experts will teach customers to recognize biased artificial intelligence. The corporation will test new developments, identify discriminatory algorithms and make AI more tolerant. The service will be operational by the end of 2020. Similar solutions were also presented by Facebook and Microsoft.
Here are some tips to help combat AI bias.
Material of the week: caloric metals and plastics
If you sharply compress or stretch any object, then its temperature will change. This phenomenon is called the elastocaloric effect. Over the past few years, scientists have found two materials that heat up and cool down very quickly and strongly when exposed.
One of them is an alloy of nickel, manganese and titanium, which has a “shape memory”. Due to their structure, such materials return to their original form as soon as the external influence disappears. This changes the temperature of the new alloy by 31,5 °C. The disadvantage of “shape memory” metals is that they gradually break down and lose their properties. Therefore, scientists are also exploring other materials, such as plastics. So, neopentyl glycol is heated by 40 ° C under strong pressure, and then quickly cools down.
Now scientists are developing commercial solutions that can use new materials. It is expected that they will be used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
Problem of the Week: The Internet of Things is Watching Us
Forbes spoke about the risks associated with the spread of Internet of Things devices. Author Augustin Fo warned that smart TVs can eavesdrop on users’ conversations, and smart bulbs transmit passwords from home Wi-Fi networks. He said that hackers often break into home security cameras and through them gain access to other “smart” devices.
Fitness trackers or smartphones with geolocation turned on threaten human life. If these devices are poorly protected, stalkers or maniacs will find out where their victim is and attack. Also, “smart” bracelets can “show” intelligence officers or terrorists the location of secret military bases.
Development of the week: artificial skin that responds to pain
A team of scientists from the Royal Melbourne University of Technology (RMIT) has created an artificial skin that responds to pain as quickly as human neurons. In addition, the development “feels” external pressure and temperature changes. The researchers are confident that their device will help to produce more advanced prostheses and restore the affected skin.
One line
- Russian technology will allow you to charge gadgets from your own body.
- China has revised the list of technologies banned from export: among them are lasers, AI and space developments.
- Drones can be launched from an air gun.
- Ethical hackers hacked 28 thousand printers to draw the attention of their owners to cyber threats.
- Amazon will use drones to deliver orders.
- A sheet of paper can be turned into a keyboard or sensor.
- German scientists have created an antibacterial material based on the web.
What to see
Ford and Bosch have created a digital solution for automatic parking. The system works with “smart” cars of the Ford Escape series. When the driver arrives at the parking lot, he transfers control to the autopilot using the application. The car is guided by sensors installed in the garage and parks itself in an empty space. When the car is needed again, the driver can “call” it through the application. The operation of the system was filmed.
What to listen
Release of the Gadget Lab podcast about the role of voice assistants in people’s lives. Wired journalist Sidney Fussill discussed with the presenters how smart devices collect data, and told how AI once became a key witness in a murder case.
What to read
Longread The Wall Street Journal about the American company Redwood Materials, which recycles old batteries from electronic devices and creates new batteries from them. Redwood Materials founder and former Tesla Motors CTO Jeffrey Brian Straubel wants to use his initiative to make electric vehicles affordable.
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